(2021-02-09). Bolivia probes mysterious deaths of condors. laprensalatina.com La Paz, Feb 8 (efe-epa).- A team of veterinarians and biologists traveled Monday to a ravine in the southern Bolivian region of Tarija where 35 condors were found dead. The experts "will work at the site to take samples and identify what happened," regional Gov. Adrian Oliva told reporters. Other animals, including a goat and …
(2021-02-08). Leading Brazilian Communist José Carlos Ruy has died. peoplesworld.org 
Editor's note from Eric A. Gordon: José Carlos Ruy entered my life very recently, but very forcefully. The repercussions of our online meeting are destined to cast a long shadow. Out of the blue (or "over the transom" as they say in the publishing world) People's World received an article by him—in English—celebrating the life of Brazilian left-wing poet …
(2021-02-08). ExxonMobil exploits divisions in South America to score massive oil profits. peoplesworld.org 
Tensions are rising between neighboring Guyana and Venezuela over a piece of land that has been disputed since at least 1835. Both Guyana's President Irfaan Ali and Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro have exchanged sharp words about the status of the Essequibo region, which both countries claim. Since 1990, the two countries have pursued their claims through a United Nations …
(2021-02-08). André Arauz Wins First Round Of Ecuadorian Presidential Election. popularresistance.org Andrés Arauz of the progressive Union for Hope alliance (UNES) won the first round in the Ecuadorian presidential elections that were held on Sunday, February 7. He obtained 31.74% of the votes, as per the results of the quick count by the national electoral council. It is not fully clear who is in the second place as the results showed a technical tie between Guillermo Lasso of the right-wing Creating Opportunities‚Ää (CREO) party and Social Christian Party (PSC), and Yaku Pérez of the Indigenous Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement party. Lasso obtained 20.05% of the votes, while Pérez secure…
(2021-02-08). National Gas Chief Arrested for Corruption at Venezuela's PDVSA. venezuelanalysis.com On the same day, local oil managers Alfredo Chirinos and Aryenis Torrealba were sentenced to five years, provoking anger from their grassroots support campaign.
(2021-02-08). Recent developments in Manaus, Brazil raise many issues about the future course of the COVID-19 pandemic. wsws.org After premature and unjustified claims of reaching "herd immunity," the Brazilian city has been ravaged by a second wave of coronavirus that has overwhelmed local health care resources.
(2021-02-08). Bolivia Heading Towards Cooperative Politics and Economy. strategic-culture.org 
Half of the country's revenues still come from natural gas and oil. Agricultural production is second. Arce wishes to diversify the economy, Ron Ridenour writes. | Communtarian-indigenous based Movement toward Socialism (MAS) regained governmental control of the country, October 18, 2021, defeating the U.S.-backed rightest coup government. (1) | Luis Arce, President Evo Morales' (2006-2019) minister of economy and public finance, and David Choquehuanca, Morales' foreign minister, won the presidency and vice-presidency with 55% of the vote (3.4 million). The closest opposition candidate was former conservative pre…
(2021-02-08). Inside Ecuador's Citizens Revolution. popularresistance.org Quito, Ecuador – The South American nation of Ecuador is currently suffering through its worst economic crisis in decades. Poverty is skyrocketing, corruption is rampant, and the US-backed government has shown itself to be deeply undemocratic. | On February 7, Ecuador will hold a historic election that could fundamentally change its direction, moving the nation away from its current neoliberal policies and reliance on Washington, and restoring the socialist-oriented program of former President Rafael Correa, who launched a progressive movement called the Citizens' Revolution.
(2021-02-08). Andrés Arauz wins first round of Ecuadorian presidential election, heads to run-off on April 11. peoplesdispatch.org According to the quick count, Andrés Arauz of the progressive Union for Hope alliance (UNES) won 31.74% of the votes. However, its still unclear who his opponent will be as two candidates are technically tied for second place…
(2021-02-08). Progressive candidate Andrés Arauz has the advantage ahead of Ecuador's run-off election. peoplesdispatch.org Andrés Arauz of the progressive Union for Hope alliance (UNES) won the first round in the Ecuadorian presidential elections that were held on February 7…
(2021-02-07). The Heat: U.S. and Brazil battle COVID-19. america.cgtn.com 
COVID-19 continues its deadly rampage across the United States. | And Brazil battles a coronavirus crisis too.
(2021-02-07). How Ecuador's US-backed, coup-supporting 'ecosocialist' candidate Yaku Pérez aids the right-wing. thegrayzone.com Ecuador's presidential candidate Yaku Pérez supported coups in Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. His US-backed party Pachakutik and supposedly "left-wing" environmentalist campaign is being promoted by right-wing corporate lobbyists. (Editor's note: This article was updated on February 8, following the first round of Ecuador's presidential election.) Ecuador's February 7 presidential election concluded in a surprise: The quick count published by the country's National Electoral Council appeared to show a little-known candidate named Yaku Pérez Guartambel in second place, securing a …
(2021-02-07). How Ecuador's US-backed, coup-supporting 'ecosocialist' candidate aids the right-wing. thegrayzone.com Ecuador's third-place presidential candidate Yaku Pérez and his US-backed party Pachakutik supported coups in Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. His supposedly "left-wing" environmentalist campaign is being promoted by right-wing corporate lobbyists. Ecuador's historic February 7 election could bring a popular revolutionary movement back from the dead and help fuel a new wave of socialist governments in Latin America. The contrast between the two main presidential candidates could hardly be more stark: On one side is a conservative banker backed by …
(2021-02-07). Ecuador: US-Backed Government Scrambles To Privatize The Central Bank. popularresistance.org With just days until Ecuador's February 7 presidential election and four months remaining on President Lenin Moreno's mandate, the Ecuadorian government and right-wing elites are still scrambling to privatize the country's central bank. | The process involves fast-tracking an emergency law dubbed the Humanitarian Support Organic Law, which will "lockdown" the central bank, siphon it from the public sector, and place Ecuador's financial sovereignty at the whims of private interests. | According to right-wing figures and the country's mainstream media apparatus that protects and serves its interest, the unconstitut…
(2021-02-07). Russia's Sputnik V Coronavirus Vaccine Safest in World, Maduro Says. sputniknews.com BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) – The Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine is the safest vaccine against COVID-19 in the world, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said.
(2021-02-07). The left eyes victory as Ecuador goes to the polls. thecanary.co On Sunday 7 February, Ecuadorians go to the
(2021-02-07). Venezuelan Parliamentary Commission Charges Guaidó. popularresistance.org Today, February 5, the Comptroller Commission of Venezuela's National Assembly (AN) presented before the Public Ministry (MP) charges against the 2015 deputy Juan Guaidó for damage to the Republic and usurpation of functions. | In statements transmitted by Venezolana de Televisión, the president of the commission, deputy José Brito, stated that the charges presented by the Commission included criminal association, organized crime, usurpation of functions, assassination, attempted coup, homicide, and others. | "The sum of penalties would add up to more than 200 years in prison," said Brito. In this regard, he ment…
(2021-02-06). Incarcerated and at COVID's mercy: New York must do more for elderly imprisoned people. mronline.org 
COVID-19 is now raging uncontrolled throughout the United States. New variants that are more easily transmitted have entered the country from the U.K., Brazil and South Africa. Vaccine is scarce.
(2021-02-06). Biden Administration Rules Out Maduro Talks, Pledges Support for Guaido. venezuelanalysis.com State Department Spokesperson Ned Price indicated that the Biden White House will not change tack in its predecessor's Venezuela foreign policy.
(2021-02-06). Ecuador's historic election explained: Inside the Citizens' Revolution. thegrayzone.com Ben Norton traveled to Ecuador to report on the historic February 7 election, which pits a wealthy US-backed right-wing banker against a left-wing economist who pledges to continue the socialist Citizens' Revolution launched by former President Rafael Correa. In this dispatch, working-class Ecuadorians explain why they support leftist candidate Andrés Arauz and oppose the repressive Washington-allied government of Lenín Moreno. QUITO, ECUADOR — The South American nation of Ecuador is currently suffering through its worst economic crisis in decades. Poverty …
(2021-02-06). Lessons From The November 2019 U.S.-Backed Coup In Bolivia. popularresistance.org In October of 2020, the Movement Towards Socialism (acronymed MAS in Spanish) returned to power 11 months after the U.S.-backed far-right coup regime of Jeanine àÅñez ousted Evo Morales and his government during Bolivia's November 2019 elections. The MAS party restored majority control over Bolivia's legislature, and MAS candidate Luis Arce won the presidential election by a landslide victory, earning about 55% of the vote against the two main anti-MAS candidates, center-right ex-president Carlos Mesa (who received almost 29%) and far-right Luis Camacho (who received only 14%). | The right-wing opposition h…
(2021-02-06). Canceling their own? NYT's lead Covid-19 reporter resigns after reprimand for use of 'N-word' fails to appease co-workers. rt.com 
Donald McNeil Jr., the New York Times' top reporter on the Covid-19 pandemic, has resigned after management's decision not to fire him for innocuously using the "N-word" left many staffers at the newspaper "outraged and in pain." | The episode began when a student on a Times-sponsored trip to Peru in 2019 asked McNeil whether he thought her classmate should be suspended for using a racial slur on a video made years earlier. The reporter, who was on the trip as an expert to inform the students, repeated the slur when asking the girl about the context in which it had been used. | Allegations regarding McNeil's c…
(2021-02-06). [Obituary] Tabaré Vázquez. thelancet.com Former President of Uruguay and oncologist. Born on Jan 17, 1940, in Montevideo, Uruguay, he died from lung cancer there on Dec 6, 2020, aged 80 years.
(2021-02-06). New coronavirus variants cause concern in Spain. yenisafak.com While the peak of Spain's third wave appears to have passed, new variants are causing unease as Madrid confirmed Spain's first ever case of the Brazil variant on Friday.Spain has now detected all three of the variants that have alarmed health officials worldwide.The mutant virus was detected in a 44-year-old man who had flown into the Madrid airport from Brazil. He presented a negative PCR test upon arrival on Jan. 29, but officials gave him a rapid test and discovered he was contagious.After sequencing the virus, scientists can now confirm that he was carrying the variant, which some studies suggest increases th…
(2021-02-05). Are We Not All in Search of Tomorrow. dissidentvoice.org 
Oswaldo Terreros (Ecuador), Mural para la Universidad Superior de las Artes ('Mural for the University of the Arts'), 2012. In 2019, 613 million Indians voted to appoint their representatives to the Indian parliament (Lok Sabha). During the election campaign, the political parties spent Rs. 60,000 crores (around US $8 billion), 45% of which was spent …
(2021-02-05). How ExxonMobil Uses Divide and Rule to Get Its Way in South America. counterpunch.org 
Guyana's government used money from ExxonMobil "to meet the estimated cost in 2018 of presenting Guyana/Venezuela controversy at the International Court of Justice including payment of legal fees." In mid-2020, the Guyanese paper Kaieteur News' senior reporter Kiana Wilburg broke the story that the World Bank had paid $1.2 million to Hunton Andrews Kurth, a law firm long associated with ExxonMobil, to revise Guyana's petroleum laws.
(2021-02-05). The Struggle Inside Senator Mitch McConnell's Brain. counterpunch.org Since 2015, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has ruled the Senate with an iron hand, describing himself as "the Guardian of Gridlock." He was Senator "NO," except for confirming over 200 mostly corporatist federal judges. Now comes a new challenge for Mitch McConnell as he leads 49 other Republican Senators, twenty of whom are up
(2021-02-05). Ecuador: US-Backed Gov't Scrambles to Privatize the Central Bank Before Elections. mintpressnews.com An emergency law dubbed the Humanitarian Support Organic Law would "lockdown" Ecuador's central bank, siphon it from the public sector, and place its financial sovereignty at the whims of private interests under the guise of saving the country from de-dollarization.
(2021-02-05). Open Letter From 40+ Economists Regarding Ecuador and the Dollar. commondreams.org Not only has leading presidential candidate Andr√©s Arauz emphasized that he is committed to maintaining the dollar as the national currency, he and his party have a long track record of taking strong measures to make sure that dollarization did not come under threat. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/ecuador_1.jpg …
(2021-02-05). Trans persons in Brazil live in fear in deadliest country for that community. laprensalatina.com By Nayara Batschke Sao Paulo, Feb 5 (efe-epa).- Isabella Souza has paid a steep price for being a transgender person in Brazil, having suffered beatings and abuse and feared for her life since she was a young girl. Her experience is one shared by thousands of trans individuals in that South American country, the world's …
(2021-02-05). Paraguay: UN rights chief calls for 'prompt, independent' probe into girl deaths and disappearance. news.un.org Following the disappearance in Paraguay of a teenage girl and killing of two 11-year-olds, the UN human rights chief has expressed her deep concern, also noting on Friday other disturbing elements of abuse against women and girls, surrounding the cases.
(2021-02-05). Colombian artists honor civil violence victims with urban memory museum. laprensalatina.com Bogota, Feb 4 (efe-epa).- They were killed by police or for defending a cause they believed in, and now their faces, painted in vivid colors on the columns of a bridge in Bogota, occupy a place in Colombia's first open-air memory museum. Cars whiz on by on Boyaca Avenue as several street artists, perched on …
(2021-02-05). What you need to know about the upcoming Ecuadorian elections. peoplesdispatch.org On February 7, 13 million Ecuadorians will vote for the next president of the country. A record number of 16 candidates are contesting in the presidential elections. The country has been submerged in a social, economic and political crisis due to misgovernance of President Lenin Moreno.